William i



(No Model.)

I. PAGE. Low WATER INDICATOR.

Patented Mer. 18, 1890.

N, rEvcRs. Pnuwiulhngmpuer. washmgwn. D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VILLIAM I. PAGE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF FORTY-NINE ONE-HUNDREDTHS TO FRED M. VHITE, OF SAME PLACE.

LOW-WATER IN DICATO R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 423,879, dated March 18, 1890. Application filed November Z9, 1889. Serial No. 331,917. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, VILLIAM I. PAGE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of 5 Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Low-Tater Alarms or Detectors, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

1o This invention relates to improvements in low-water alarms or detectors for steam-boil ers and it is carried out as follows, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein--n Figure l represents a side elevation of the device,showing the inverted cup-float and a part of the tank or case in section. Fig. 2 represents a vertical section of the alarm or whistle, and Fig. 3 represents a cross-section 2o on the line X X, shown in Fig. l.

Similar letters refer to similar parts wherever they occur on the differents parts of the drawings.

a is the tank or oase, as usual, connected with the steam and water spaces by means of the respective pipes a and a, as is common in devices of this kind.

a3 is the cover, preferably screwed to the upper end of the case a, as shown in Fig. l. 3o To the said cover c3 is secured in a suitable manner the alarm or whistle B, having a valveseat b, normally closed by the upper end of the stem c, which is held upward by the iniiuence of a coiled spring d in the usual man- 3 5 ner. In connection with said whistle or alarm and tank I use an improved float, which is constructed as follows: The said float is made in the form of an inverted cup E, having attached to its upper closed end in a suitable 4o manner the pipe e, which is open from end to end, and through it passes loosely the valve-rod c, as shown in Fig. l, the said pipe serving as a guide for the cup-float as it is moved up and down around the valve-stem c during the rise and fall of the liquid contents of the case c.

fis a suitable amount of solder, alloy, or metal, soldered or otherwise attached to the inverted cup E, for the purpose of loading or 5o weighting it sufficiently to pull downward the valve-stem c when the lower end of the pipe e comes in contact with the pin, colla-r, or projection c on said stem c during the descent of the float E, caused by the fall of the liquid in the holder a beyond the safe normal one. The float E being made open at the bottom and the pressure therefore being equalized externally and internally, it will be seen that it is non-collapsible, no matter how great the pressure in the case or holder a is. The in- 6o verted cup E rests upon a cushion of compressed air, as shown in Fig. l, which causes the said cup to iioat in the liquid contents of the case a. Should the liquid in the case a fall below the normal safety one, the lower end of the pipe e will come in Contact with the pin or projection c on the valve-rod c, by which the latter is depressed against the influence of its spring d, causing the steam to escape through the whistle and thus causing 7o an alarm to be given, notifying the person in charge that the water in the boiler is too low for safety. The rise of the water in the boiler and case a causes the float E to rise and the valve-rod to close the escape of the steam through the whistle.

In practice I prefer to secure to the lower end of the inverted cup E an annular diaphragm E', secured in a suitable manner to the interior of the lower open end of the cup 8o E, as shown in Fig. l. The central part of said diaphragm has a perforation E somewhat larger than the exterior diameter of the pipe e, for the purpose of establishing a connection and equalizingthe pressure between the exterior and interior portions of the said float. I prefer to provide the central open part of -said diaphragm E with an upwardlyprojecting annular lip or flange E3, for the purpose of strengthening it at this part and 9o to enable the upper part of said diaphragm to be used as a receptacle for shots or weights, by which the float may be loaded, if so desired.

The diaphragm E serves for the purpose '95 of strengthening the lower end of the inverted cup E, and it also serves as an additional resisting medium against the liquid inthe case o., on which it is made to rest or float, thus increasing the buoyancy of the said cup- Ioo shaped iioat.

Having thus fully described the nature, construction, and operation of my invention, I wish to secure by Letters Patent, and clain1- l. The low-Water detector or alarm, as described, consisting of a case connected by means of steam and Water pipes to the boiler, and having an alarm or sounder B, and a valve-stein adapted to close the escape to such sounder, combined with the inverted cup-shaped float E, adapted to float on the liquid contents of said oase, and having a central guide-pipe surrounding the valve-stem, and a pin or projection c on said valve-stem, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a loW-nf'ater detector or alarm, the herein-described float, consisting of an inverted oup E, having a central guide-tube e and an annular diaphragm E at its lower end, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a low-water detector or ala-rm, the herein-described float, consisting of an inverted cup E, having a central guide-tube e and an annular diaphragm E provided with an annular and upwardly-projecting lip or ange E3, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses, on this 27 th day of November, A. D. 1889.

WILLIAM I. PAGE.

Witnesses:

ALBAN ANDRN, MARTHA J. JACKSON. 

